Claiming preferential treatment under any free trade agreement is fairly easy. Statements on the commercial invoice or accompanying certificates at the time of import are enough for your customs broker to claim the lower duty rate on your behalf. Proving eligibility of a reduced duty claim is quite the opposite, whether you are an importer, exporter, or the producer of the good.

Drawback Simplification regulations are finally here, and they’re a game-changer for importers and exporters looking to recover duties and fees. Companies can now go back five years for duty drawback claims, but you need a plan. Earlier this month, Amber Road’s Global Trade Academy hosted a webinar with Drawback Specialist Brenda Sweetman to cover these important updates.

In a further indication that U.S. trade policy toward China has stiffened, the Trump Administration has initiated a punitive tariff action against China under Section 301 of the Tariff Act. Section 301 empowers the White House to impose additional import tariffs on the products of countries who maintain discriminatory policies against U.S. products and services.

Companies importing into the GCC States (Gulf Cooperation Council: Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar) will no longer be able to move their goods across borders tax-free. Effective January 1, 2018, a 5 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate will be implemented, based on a 2015 Agreement laid-out at the 36th Meeting of the Supreme Council of the in Riyadh. The Agreement aims to establish a common legal framework for the introduction of a general tax (VAT) levied on the import and supply of goods and services at each stage of production and distribution.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) has announced significant updates to the Harmonized System (HS), which will go into effect in 2017. These changes could have a major impact on your company’s global trade processes and international supply chain. Are you prepared?

With the publication of “COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2016/1821 of 6 October 2016 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff” on October 28, 2016, the European Union has updated its EU Tariff, also known as the Combined Nomenclature (CN). The CN is, in essence, a list of numbers used to identify a description of goods traded with the EU.

Amazon.com has dominated the eCommerce industry since 1995, originating as an online reseller of books. During Amazon’s first month in business, it received orders from customers in 50 U.S. states and 45 countries across the world. Today, the company offers over 183 million products and serves more than 224 million customers.

Global business-to-consumer e-commerce is growing in leaps and bounds, not only in emerging markets where consumers can find it hard to access coveted and trending products locally, but also as a replacement to brick-and mortar shopping. However, global sales opportunities also present a challenge: to deliver a positive customer experience while combating high shipping fees, hidden costs, inaccurate duties, import and export regulations, and product restrictions.

Even the most innovative, perfectly constructed and tested, best priced product still needs to make its way into the country where it will be setting trends. Accurately classifying goods is essential to ensuring that cross-border trade runs smoothly. Tariff engineering and classification management, if done right, can also provide leverage for greater cost savings.